Maternity Policy Greater Manchester Police February 2014
POLICY IMPLEMENTED: 16 November 2012 REVIEW DATE: November 2013 POLICY OWNER: Policy and People Relations, HR Branch APPROVED BY: Head of HR and ACO Potts ASSOCIATED POLICY: Procedure included PROTECTIVE MARKING: Not Protectively Marked IS THE POLICY New Revised IF REVISED, PLEASE COMPLETE TABLE BELOW VERSION NO DATE SUMMARY OF CHANGES AUTHOR(S) This policy combines the Maternity Policy Police Officers (version 1) and the Maternity Policy Police Staff (version 2) 1 2 21/10/13 3 03/02/2014 Rewritten in Plain English and using the new Force Policy Template. Management and HR guidance removed and separate Toolkit created. All key rights and principles previously agreed remain. Reckonable Service section amended to reflect PNB Circular 10/14 Scheme 2 for Police Officers amended to differentiate between higher and lower rate SMP. Maternity Pay section for Police Officers amended to reflect Home Office Circular 013/2013. Updated to include return of Agile Working Equipment. Policy and People Relations
Table of Contents 1. Introduction and Background... 2 2. Scope... 2 3. Terms and Definitions... 2 4. Roles & Responsibilities... 3 5. Principles... 4 5.1 Am I allowed Maternity Leave?... 4 5.2 How much maternity leave can I have?... 4 5.3 When can I start my maternity leave?... 4 5.4 What will my Maternity pay be?... 5 5.5 Agile Working Equipment... 5 5.6 Reckonable Service Police Officers... 6 5.7 Contract of Employment Police Staff... 6 5.8 Antenatal care... 6 5.9 Risk Assessment... 6 5.10 Uniform... 7 5.11 Court Attendance... 7 5.12 Training Courses... 7 5.13 Annual Leave and Bank Holidays... 7 5.14 Essential Car Allowance... 7 5.15 Car Loan Scheme... 7 5.16 Cycle Scheme... 7 5.17 Childcare Payments Salary Sacrifice... 7 5.18 Pensions... 7 5.19 Miscarriage, still-birth or death of a baby... 8 5.20 KIT Days... 8 5.21 Return to work... 8 5.22 Career Breaks... 8 5.23 Continuous Service... 8 6. Procedure... 8 6.1 When to Apply for Maternity Leave... 8 6.2 How to Apply... 9 6.3 Birth of your baby... 9 6.4 KIT Days... 9 6.5 Returning to work after Maternity Leave... 9 6.6 Flexible working... 9 6.7 Resigning... 9 6.8 Appeal rights... 10 7. Associated Documents... 10 Maternity Policy Version 3
8. Consultation & Statutory Compliance... 10 8.1 Consultation... 10 8.2 Freedom of Information Act (2000) & Data Protection Act (1998)... 11 8.3 Equality Act 2010... 11 9. Appendices... 11 1. Introduction and Background Policy Statement Greater Manchester Police (GMP) recognise and respect the right of all of our staff to a family life. We are committed to supporting our staff who are, or about to be parents, and to promoting a healthy work-life balance. Maternity Leave is available for you to take time off before you are due to have your child and afterwards. Aims The aims of this policy are to: Give you a clear understanding of Maternity Leave and entitlements, and Explain the procedure you need to follow if you want to apply for Maternity Leave. 2. Scope This policy applies to all pregnant Police Staff and Police Officers. It applies no matter what your length of service is or the number of hours you work each week. Where we refer to staff in this policy, it also applies to officers unless we say otherwise. 3. Terms and Definitions Maternity Leave The amount of leave you can take. There are schemes for Police Staff and Police Officers. Continuous Service Includes continuous service with GMP or other qualifying body. Week A continuous period of 7 calendar days, from Sunday to Saturday. HR Branch 2
The Qualifying Week (QW) The end of the 15 th week before the start of the week in which your child is due. This is the date given on your Mat B1 form. MAT B1 Form The maternity certificate that shows the date on which your child is due. Your midwife or doctor will give you this 14 weeks before your child is due. Expected Week of Childbirth (EWC) The week, beginning on a Sunday, in which you are expected to have your child. Expected Date of Childbirth (EDC) The date on which your child is due. Childbirth The live birth of your child, or a still-birth after a pregnancy lasting at least 24 weeks. Normal Pay Your normal pay will be based your average weekly earnings over the eight weeks directly before your Qualifying week. Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) The amount of money, set by the government, paid to you if you qualify for it. You can find out the current amount on the direct.gov.uk website. SMP1 Form The form we need to complete for you, if you have less than 26 weeks service, to explain why you are not eligible to receive SMP. You ll need this to be able to claim Maternity Allowance. The form is available from direct.gov.uk website. Maternity Allowance (MA) The amount you can claim through Jobcentre Plus, if you don t qualify for SMP. You can find out more on the direct.gov.uk website. Keeping In Touch (KIT) Days Days worked during your maternity leave. The maximum number is 10. 4. Roles & Responsibilities Responsibility of HR The Head of HR is responsible for developing a Maternity Policy that supports the work-life balance of staff and meets the legal requirements and operational needs of GMP. HR Branch 3
HR will advise managers on the process for dealing with pregnant staff and applications for maternity leave. Responsibility of Managers Managers must treat staff members sensitively, fairly and in line with this policy. They should make sure that all maternity leave is properly recorded. Managers are responsible for carrying out a risk assessment to assess if any adjustments are necessary to safeguard staff members or their unborn child. Responsibility of Staff Staff members should let us know they are pregnant as soon as possible so that their manager can carry out a risk assessment. They should follow the procedure for submitting requests for Maternity Leave. They should give as much notice as possible. 5. Principles 5.1 Am I allowed Maternity Leave? You re entitled to take maternity leave regardless of how long you ve worked for us. 5.2 How much maternity leave can I have? Police Staff You can have up to 52 weeks maternity leave. Police Officers You can have to up to 15 months maternity leave. You can take your maternity leave in more than one block. 5.3 When can I start my maternity leave? Police Staff: The earliest you can start your maternity leave is 11 weeks before your EWC. Police Officers: The earliest you can start your maternity leave is 6 months before your EWC. The latest your maternity leave can end is 12 months after your child is born. Your maternity leave will start on whichever is the earlier date of: Your chosen start date The day after your child is born The day after you are absent for a pregnancy-related reason if this happens 4 weeks before the date your child is due. HR Branch 4
5.4 What will my Maternity pay be? The amount of maternity pay we ll pay you will depend on your length of continuous service. There are separate schemes for Police Staff and for Police Officers; we ll let you know which scheme applies to you. There is a joint scheme if you have less than 26 weeks service. Any pay will be less your usual deductions including: tax, NI and pension. Police Staff Scheme 1 If you have 1 year s continuous service by 11 week s before your EDC we ll pay you: Weeks 1-6: Nine tenths of your normal pay Weeks 7-18: Half of normal pay plus SMP Weeks 19-39: SMP Weeks 40-52: Unpaid We won t pay you more than full pay if the combined amount of half pay plus SMP exceeds this. We ll pay you half pay during weeks 7-18 if you plan to return to work for 3 months after your maternity leave. If you don t return, we ll reclaim this from you. Scheme 2 If you have at least 26 weeks continuous service by 11 week s before your EDC we ll pay you: Weeks 1-6 Nine tenths of your normal pay Weeks 7-39 SMP Weeks 40-52 Unpaid Police Officers Scheme 1 If you have at least 63 weeks continuous service at the beginning of your EWC we ll pay you: Weeks 1-18: Your normal pay less any Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) received. Weeks 19-39: SMP Weeks 40 onwards: Unpaid You can choose to have the final five weeks of full pay (weeks 14-18) spread out over 10 weeks, and instead receive half pay plus half rate SMP over weeks 14-23. If you want to do this you must let HR Services know when you inform them of your pregnancy, otherwise we ll pay you full pay during weeks 1-18. HR Branch 5
Scheme 2 If you have between 26-63 weeks continuous service at the beginning of your Qualifying week, we ll pay you: Weeks 1-6: Higher rate SMP Weeks 1-39: Lower rate SMP Weeks 40 onwards: Unpaid Joint Scheme - Less than 26 weeks Service by your QW If you have less than 26 weeks by your QW, you ll still be able to take time off but we won t pay you during any part of your maternity leave. This will also apply if your average earnings are less than the lower limit for National Insurance. We ll give you the SMP1 form and you may qualify for Maternity Allowance. 5.5 Agile Working Equipment If you take a period of maternity leave for 3 months or more, all agile working equipment assigned to you must be returned to the IS Branch via the IS Surgery/HQ. This will be re-assigned to you when you return following maternity leave 5.6 Reckonable Service Police Officers We ll count the first 52 weeks of your maternity leave, paid or unpaid: as service in your grade or rank for the purposes of increments, pay and relevant service; for part of any period of probation; and for annual leave purposes. 5.7 Contract of Employment Police Staff You ll continue to be employed throughout your maternity leave, unless you resign or your contract comes to an end for other reasons. However, during your maternity leave you won t continue to receive pay other than that described in the Maternity Pay section above. When you take time off under this policy, this period will also count as service for the purposes of pay, leave and redundancy payments. 5.8 Antenatal care You re entitled to paid time off for antenatal care. However, you should show evidence of appointments if asked. This will include relaxation classes where these have been recommended by your Doctor, Midwife or Health Visitor. 5.9 Risk Assessment When you tell your manager you re pregnant they ll do a risk assessment. They may change your duties to ensure you and your unborn child is not at risk. They will take you off any duty where confrontation or a physical force situation could occur. You should refer to the Risk Assessment for Expectant Mothers. HR Branch 6
5.10 Uniform Maternity clothing is available if you wear a uniform and you should apply to stores. 5.11 Court Attendance You may need to attend court whilst on maternity leave. However, you can give details of your Maternity Leave on the court availability sheets. We ll pay you your normal pay for a full day if you attend court, but this won t count as a Keeping in Touch day. You will also receive a day off in lieu when you return to work. If you attend court, you can claim travel and other expenses back, as long as you provide receipts in the normal way. 5.12 Training Courses If you are part way through a course that GMP is paying for you may wish to continue attending, this is up to you. We won t be able to pay you your salary. 5.13 Annual Leave and Bank Holidays Maternity leave will not affect your annual leave or bank holiday entitlement. You should consider taking your current year s annual leave before your maternity leave. However, you can carry them forward to the end of your maternity leave. You must take all your outstanding annual leave and bank holidays from the previous leave year before you come back to work. 5.14 Essential Car Allowance If you re an essential car user, you ll still receive the lump sum for the whole of your maternity leave period. 5.15 Car Loan Scheme If you have a car loan at the time of starting your maternity leave, deductions will continue to be made whilst you re on maternity leave. During any unpaid maternity leave we ll send an invoice to your home address for the required amount. 5.16 Cycle Scheme Please refer to the Cycle Scheme. 5.17 Childcare Payments Salary Sacrifice If you re in the scheme then you should contact HR Services to discuss your continuing membership during your maternity leave. 5.18 Pensions Whilst you re on paid maternity leave we ll continue to deduct your pension contributions. When your pay reduces we ll still deduct your full contribution. Whilst on unpaid maternity leave your contributions will cease. This means that you ll lose membership for this period unless you repay contributions to cover it within 6 months of your return to work. HR Branch 7
5.19 Miscarriage, still-birth or death of a baby In the unfortunate situation that your baby is still-born after 24 weeks pregnancy, or your baby dies, this policy will apply to you. If your baby dies or is still-born before 24 weeks unfortunately we won t be able to pay you maternity pay or SMP. We ll grant you special leave or sick leave based on individual circumstances. Our decision will be based on your needs and medical opinion. 5.20 KIT Days The maximum number of Keeping in Touch days you can work without bringing your maternity leave to an end is 10. You can take a KIT day to attend a training course or event, or to meet with your team for an update. You don t have to attend KIT days but many people find it makes returning to work easier. We ll pay you for any hours worked based on your salary in addition to your SMP for that week. However this will be off set against your full time salary for the days you work within that week. If you take any KIT days we won t extend your maternity leave. 5.21 Return to work We ll assume you ll be returning to work at the end of your maternity leave period. You re not allowed to return to work for at least 2 weeks after the birth of your baby. Police Staff. You re entitled to return to the same job on the same terms and conditions. However, in exceptional circumstances, for example redundancy, we might not be able to give you the same job back. If this happens, we ll offer you another job where there is a vacancy, as long as: it s suitable for you, and the work, workplace and your terms and conditions are not substantially less favourable than your old job. 5.22 Career Breaks Please refer to our Career Break policy. 5.23 Continuous Service If you decide to resign, then all your continuous service with us, and any other qualifying body, will be protected for certain entitlements, if you return to the Police service within 8 years. This applies only if you ve not had any other permanent jobs during that time. 6. Procedure 6.1 When to Apply for Maternity Leave Apply as soon as possible. This should be: before the Qualifying Week, or at least 28 days before you start your leave HR Branch 8
6.2 How to Apply Tell your manager, complete form 1088 and send it to HR Services. We ll write to you within 28 days, to confirm your maternity entitlements and the date we expect you to return from maternity leave. You can change the date you plan to start your maternity leave but you need to give us at least 28 days notice. Send your MATB1 certificate to HR Services as soon as you receive it. If we don t receive this from you, we can t pay you maternity pay. If you have to start you maternity leave early, due to pregnancy-related sickness or your baby being born early, you should let HR Services know as soon as possible. 6.3 Birth of your baby You must write to HR Services when your baby is born to tell them: your baby s name, sex and date of birth. your PIN/Collar number 6.4 KIT Days If you arrange a KIT day with your manager, your manager will let HR Services know so that we can pay you for the hours that you ve worked. 6.5 Returning to work after Maternity Leave We ll assume that you ll return to work at the end of your Maternity Leave. This is the date provided to you by HR Services and will be your latest return date. If you wish to return sooner, you must give your manager and HR Services at least 8 weeks notice. If you don t then your pay may be affected. Police Officers. You should give as much notice as possible but a minimum of 21 days. You should let Pensions know if you wish to repay your pension contributions. You can give your manager more advance notice of your return to work if you want to know your shift pattern earlier, for example, to arrange childcare. Your manager will let the Resource Management Group know and they ll let you know what post you ll be returning to and your new shift pattern. 6.6 Flexible working If you wish to apply to return to work on a flexible working pattern you should discuss this with your manager as early as possible, ideally three months before your return. 6.7 Resigning HR Branch 9
If you decide not to return to work, you should notify your manger immediately. You ll need to give notice in line with your contract of employment. 6.8 Appeal rights If you re not satisfied with the application of this policy, you should raise the matter with your manager first. If you re still not satisfied, you can raise a grievance under the Grievance Policy. 7. Associated Documents GMP Forms: Application for Leave Form (706A) Application for flexible working Police Officers (Form 0726C) Application for flexible working Police Staff (Form 0726F) GMP Policies: Flexible Working Policy Taking Time off Policy Attendance Management Policy Career Break Policy GMP Guidance: Managing Maternity Toolkit Management of Flexible Working Toolkit Management of Taking Time Toolkit Management of Attendance Toolkit Risk Assessment for New or Expectant Mothers 8. Consultation & Statutory Compliance 8.1 Consultation Department UNISON Police Federation Comments Detailed consultation has taken place with Unison on all revisions to the Policy and their views have been taken into account. The Federation have been consulted on the revisions to the Policy, and provided their comments which have been taken into account. HR Branch 10
8.2 Freedom of Information Act (2000) & Data Protection Act (1998) The policy and procedures are compliant with the Acts. 8.3 Equality Act 2010 The policy and procedures are compliant with the Act. 9. Appendices n/a HR Branch 11